Semi-automatic gun.



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PATENTBD NOV. 21,1905. W. H. BRIGGS. SEMIAUTOMATIC' GUN.

APPLICATION FILED API'LIO, 1905- 4 SHEETS-SHBET l.

PATENTED NOV. 21, 1905. W. H. DRIGGS.

SEMIAUTOMATIG GUN.

APPLICATION FILED APILIO, 1 906.

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PATENTED Nov. 21} 1905.

W. H. BRIGGS.

SEMIAUTOMATIG GUN.

APPpIqATmN FILED APR. 10. 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4 UNITE-D stir-ri s eas est ()FFIQ.

wiLLiAM HALE mucus, or vv'.isiii.\' iron, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ASSIGNOR'rop'rinc nniecs-smnvm' ORB-NANCE or SHARON, P1iNNSYL\-'.-\.\IA, .vCORPORA'UON OF PENNSYLVANIA CORPORATIGN,

SEMI-AUTOMATIC GUN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1905.

Application filed April 10, 1905. Serial No. 254,827.

To rr// 11-71 out it may (once/'11 Be itknown that I, VILLI'AM HALL:Demos,

a citizen ofthe United States,rcsidingaHVashington, in the District ofColumbia, have in- 1 vented certaln new and useful Improvements inSemi-Automatic (inns; and 1 do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the inventioi'i, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention relates to improvements in semi-automatic guns, or thoseguns in which it is intended-to open the breech either autonjiaticallyor by hand, to load by hand, and to close the breech eitherautomatically or by hand.

The invention, as shown in the drawings, is embodied in the gun of thel-Iotchkiss type, in which there a vertically-reciprocating breeelrllock, although features of the inveni tionmav be embodied in guns ofother than this well-known llotchkiss type.

fmference is had to the accompanying d rawings, in which the same partsare indicated by the same letters throughmitthc several views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the gun and shoulder-bar, parts beingbroken away. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the parts shown in Fig. 1. In bothof these lignres the gun and shoulderbar are shown; but the cradle andother parts of the gun-mountare omitted, these not being a part of mypresent invention. Fig. 2" is a detail showing a plan view of thecampiece and contiguous parts on a larger scale than is indicated inFig. 2, parts being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a rear view of thedevice shown in Figs. 1 to 3 :arts bein' shown 5 2 in section. Fig. 4 isa detail showing the hub of the hand-lever for operating the breechmechanism by hand or antomatically. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of theextractor. Fig. (3 is a perspective view of the pivoted operating-cam.Fig. 7 is a side elevation showing the hand lever and the liringmechanism. Fig. 8 shows a side view of the trigger and scar andillustrates theoperation of the tiring mechanism. Fig. 5) shows themeans l'oreonnecting the pivoted operating-cam to the shoulder-bar. Fig.10 is a section on the line 10 ll) of Fig. 9 looking in the direction ofworked entirely by hand, if desired; and Fig.

11 is a diagram showing the engagement of the extractor with thebreech-block when the breeeh-bloclfis in the open position andillustrates the method of automatically releasing the breeeh-block whena fresh cartridge-case is inserted.

A represents the body of the gun, provided I with'the usual housing forthe breech-block.

B represents the shoulder-bar, which is connected to the cradle (notshown) in any 5 suitable way.

0 represents the breechblockfwhich is provided with the usual cam-grooveC for the lug on the crank and also with the groove-C for the lug on theextractor and with the step c" to engage said lug, as will behereinafter described.

1) represents the hand-lever, which is pro vided with the ordinaryhandle I) and with an enlarged hub l)", which hub slips over the squareshaft 1 journaled inthc body of the gun, andthe said hub is locked tothe said shaft by a tonguef. projecting from the spring F into a recess1/ through the walls of the opening D" for the-shaft E. (See Fig. 4.)

(r represents the operating-crank, which is fast to the shaft l) and isprovided with an operating-lug (i This lug (.ir' is flattened somewhaton top, as at to afford a better hold-' ing-surface to prevent the gunfrom being prematurely opened by any jar; but this is a well-knownexpedient. I

ll represents a shaft journaled intlie block and having I gully attachedthereto the cocking-toe ll, the hammer ll having the firingpoint /I andthe toe II, which engages the lug A on the block K, fast to the rod K,which rod carries a button K adapted to compress the tiring-spring Kwhen the tiring mechanism is cooled. The tiring mechanism is normallyheld in the cocked position tymeans of a sear M. pivoted, as at m, inthe breeek-block and provided with a catch m, engaging a'corlrespondingcatch ii." on the hub H, whichhu-b is fast to the shaft 11.

the arrows and illustrates the means provided Thissear carries at itsdownward lower end a pin m-i'whicli engages in an elongated slot )1 inthe sliding block N. which is -dovetailed,-as at If, intoa groove w inthe breech-block. This block N terminates in a nose i'-, which normally'bears against the arm 0. fast to thesh'aftO, which shaft carries thetrigger 0*. This shaft 0' is -engages the rim of the cartridge-case.

held in place by a spring-keeper O", which I the'holfsing at one side'of the breech-block, and the extractor has a nib or claw l", whli ch heextractor also is provided with the lug P which is preferably rounded,as at 7), on its forward face and is flattened, at /,,on its lower face.This lug P slides in the groove and as the breech-block is lowered therounded edge 9 of the lug strikes the camface 0 of .the groove (1 andpushes the extractor backward until the flat face 7/ rests above theshoulders", the block being lowered slightly farther than is otherwisenecessary in the operation of the gun. As the block is raised eitherunder the automatic or hand operation, this-lower face of the lug P willarrest the upward movement of the block until a cartridge-case is putin, when the rim of the cartridge-case engaging the extractor will slideit slightly forward, disengaging the face 19 of the lug P and theshoulder a of the groove (3, at which time the breech-block is p, whichslide in corresponding g'uideways in.

free to be operated either automatically or by hand.

Having thus described the hand operation 'of the gun, I will now showhow the breech may be opened or closed automatically.

, The hand-lever D is provided with a hook D and with the cam-lug D. Achain Q is connected to a rod Q, passing through the coil-spring Q", andterminates in a screwthreaded end 1 carrying a nut 11 and a washer f, bymeans,of which the compression on the spring Qf may be adjusted withinlimits. The rear end of this spring bears against a shoulder on theshoulder-bar; but in practice the spring will ordinarily be mounted inthe casing, and this casing is fitted in a recess in the shoulder-bar.

R'represents the pivoted operating-cam, having the cam-block R with theinclined yielding surface 1' and the engaging surface r. This block R-is pivoted to the shoulderbar, as shown in Figs. 6, 9, and 1U, iii-whichT represents amin having a lug t, which pro:

' jectls into the recess between the shoulders 1- and r atone side ofthe pivot-hole 1' in the block B. 'This block R when the gun is to beused as a semi-automatic gun is normally pressed inward about a pivot bymeans of the spring R so that when the gun recoils the face ti of thecam-lug D will strike the inclined face r and will press the block Rback ward against the action of the spring, thus allowing the-lug D topass by; but on counter-recoil the face d on the cam-lug D will strikethe face '1" on the cam-lug R, 'and the block R not yielding when inthis position will cause the cam-lug D to rock the operatinglever Dbackward, thus opening the breech. As the breech-block is lowered theextractor will be cammed backwarduntil the lug P passes above theshoulder 0, and as the breech starts to close again when the gun nearsthe initial position the spring Q which has been compressed duringrecoil, will swing the breech-block far enough upward to cause theshoulderv 1:" to engage theface p of the lug I on the extractor and thebreech-block will be arrested against further upward motion until thefresh cartridge-case is inserted, when the extractorwvill be draggedforward, releasing the breech-block and allowing it to continue itsupward movement to the closed position. This operation is illustratedmost clearly in Figs. 7 and 11.

In order to throw the semi-automatic attachment out of operation, itwill only be necessary to swing the resilient arm T on the pin T untilthe point t beneath the handle t engages in the notch in theshoulder-bar. This will rock the block It inward about its pivotsufiiciently far to prevent the cam-lug it from striking the cam-lug D,so that the gun may move freely on recoil and on counterrecoil withoutalfecting the automatic attachments in any way.

-It will be noted that when the automatic attachment is in engagement,that when the face (1 of the cam-lug l) engages the face 1" on thecam-lug B, there will -be a tendency not to wedge the block R outwardagainst its spring, but to swing it inward ahoutits pivot, thus securinga firm engagement. To prevent this block from being swung in too far, 1provide a lip 7'. which strikes a shoulder on the shoulder-bar, and thuslimits the inward swing of the cam-piece R. c

It will be obvious that various modifications might be made in theherein-described apparatus which could he used without departing fromthe spirit. of my invention.

llaving thus described my invent-ion, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patcam-piece having a cam on the inner side thereof,projecting inward toward the axis of the gun, and lying in a verticalplane between the pivot of said cam-piece and the axis of the gun, avertical pivot-pin locked to said campieee and pivoted in said cradle,forming thepivot for saidcam-piece, a resilient arm secured to saidpivot-pin, and provided with a i catch at its free end, for holding saidpivotpin and the cam-piece locked thereto in the desired position, and aspring normally tending to press the free end of said cam-piece inwardagainst the action of said arm, suhstantially as described.

2. In a gun, the combination with the gunbody, andthe cradle in whichsaid gun-body recoils, of an operating-lever carried by the gun-body,and breech mechanism operated thereby, a cam-lug on said lever, aswinging cam-piece having a cam on the inner side thereof, projectinginward toward the axis of the gun, and lyingina vertical plane betweenthe pivot of said cam-piece and the axisof the gun, a vertical pivot-pinlocked to said campiece and pivoted in said cradle, forming the pivotfor said cam-piece, a resilient arm secared to said pivot-pin, andprovided with a catch at its free end, for holding said pivotpin and thecam-piece locked thereto in the desired position, and a spring normallytendmg to press the free end of said cam-piece 1nward against the actionof said arm, and a sliding'extractor locking the breech-block in theopen position until engaged by the rim of the cartridge-case in theoperation of loading,

1 substantially as described.

' In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

\YILLIA HALE BRIGGS. Witnesses: I

